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(No Model.)

. A. LEWIS.

1 OVERSHOE. N0. 296.978. Patented Apr 15, 1884',

N PETERS. Fholo-Lilhcgnpher. Washinglon. D, a

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

GEORGE A. LEWIS, OF NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO GOOD- YEARSMETALLIC RUBBER SHOE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,978, dated April15, 1884.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that L-Gnoaen A. LEWIs, ofNaugatuck, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new Improvement in Overshoes; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and theletters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecifica tion, and represent, in

Figure 1, a side view of the shoe complete; Fig. 2, the lining asapplied to the last, showing the gore-shaped recess filled by theelastic gore; Fig. 3, a section across the shoe at the opening; Fig. 4,a modification.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of overshoes inwhich the entire outer surface is formed from rubber. In the usualmanufacture of this class of shoes a lining is first fitted to the last;then over this lining the outer surface of india-rubber is applied insheet form and worked down upon the lining, and so that the two parts,when vulcanized, will befirmly united. There being very little and inmany cases no elasticity in the opening of this class of shoes, they arenecessarily made very low, in order to be drawn upon the foot. In theclass of shoes which are made to extend higher up or to the ankle, agore of elastic material has been introduced at each side, and what isknown as the Congress Arctic. These gores present a fabric surfaceoutward. Notwithstanding the greatest care be exercised in themanufacture of these gores, they soon pull out, and become almostuseless for the purpose intended. NVhen first made, such goresaccomplish their object and permit the shoe to be made very high,because they allow the opening of theshoeto be expanded to draw on overthe heel. The fabric outer surface, however well made, Will, after alittle wear, break'so as to permit the water to work its way through itinto the shoe.

The object of my invention is to construct a high-cut overshoe with acomplete rubber exterior; and it consists in an elastic gore introducedinto the lining of the shoe at one or both sides of the opening beforethe outer is applied, then overlaying the whole shoe, including theelastic gore, with the outer thickness of sheet-rubber, as more fullyhereinafter described.

The general cut of the shoe, as seen in Fig. 1, is the same as the usualhigh-cut shoethat is, the higher class of what are commonly calledCongress Arctics. 111 making up the shoe the lining is fitted upon thelast in the usual manner. At the opening on one or both sides agore-pieceis cut out, and into that a corresponding-shaped gore, A, islaid, as seen in Fig. 2. This gore is made from any suitable elasticmaterial, preferably the diagonal fabric known as the Winslow Gore-Cloth. In thickness this gore-piece corresponds substantially to that ofthe lining, and lies upon the last as a part ofthe lining. Then over thewhole a rubber outer, B, Fig. 3, is laid, in the usual manner ofcovering the entire surface of the shoe, including the gore. The shoe isthen vulcanized and finished in the usual manner, and when completed hasthe outward appearance of a common india-rubber overshoe, except that itis higher cut. The rubber outer being elastic, that part which coversthe gore yields with the gore and permits the expansion of the openingof the shoe in putting on, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1.

The outer, extending as it does over the gore, protects the gore orelastic portion from the usual wear to which it is subjected, and alsoprevents the breaking of the gore portion, so

that, while accomplishing the object of thegore in the previous high-cutshoes, it avoids the difficulties attending the same. If desired, thegore may be only at one side, or it may be at the heel only, as seen inFig. l, and accomplish substantially the same result.

I claim The herein-described iudia-rubber overshoe, having one or moreelastic gores introduced into a correspondingshaped recess in and so asto make substantially a part of the lining, the lining and gore coveredon the outside by a continuous india-rubber surface, substantially asdescribed.

GEO. A. LEIVIS.

lVitnesses: a a

W. H. HADENCAMP, ARTHUR H. DAYTON.

